i. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to methods and devices for use in medical procedures, including without limitation, minimally invasive surgical, therapeutic, and diagnostic procedures and, more particularly, to devices for cleaning the lenses of an endoscopic camera while positioned internally in a body cavity.
ii. Description of the Related Art
In minimally invasive medical procedures, such as laparoscopic surgery, a surgeon may place one or more small ports into a patient's abdomen to gain access to the abdominal cavity of the patient. Surgical and diagnostic instruments are delivered transcutaneously into the patient's body via one or more ports, through for example, a trocar or a trocar incision. Other minimally invasive surgical procedures include natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES™) wherein surgical instruments and viewing devices are introduced into a patient's body through, for example, the mouth, vagina, nose, or rectum. Another class of such minimally invasive surgery includes magnetically-based systems (MAGS). MAGS devices typically include an internal device or end-effector that provides therapy to the patient (e.g. electro-cautery) or information to the surgeon or clinician (e.g. video camera) and an external magnet used to control the internal device.
In any of these procedures, a combination of a video camera or any suitable imaging equipment, and a source of illumination, is often used to guide the procedure. It is likely that at several points during the procedure, the camera lens will become smudged with bodily fluids or material, and a means for clearing the lens is necessary. When an endoscope is delivered ether via a NOTES pathway (flexible overtube) or transcutaneously through a trocar or trocar incision, the ability to remove and clean the lens becomes more difficult.
The foregoing discussion is intended only to illustrate various aspects of the related art in the field of the invention at the time, and should not be taken as a disavowal of claim scope.